MILAN – F.C. Internazionale announces that, as per standard procedure, it will collect requests from Italian pressrepresentatives for the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League Matchday 2 fixture between CSKA
Moscow and Inter, to be played at the Luzhniki Stadium on Tuesday 27 September (18:00 kick-off).

Accreditation requests must be sent to press@inter.it, by the strict deadline of 13:00 on Tuesday 20 September. They will then be forwarded to CSKA Moscow’s press office.

MILAN – F.C. Internazionale wishes to announce that all accreditation requests from journalists, photographers and TV/radio representatives for Inter v Napoli, the Week 6 match of the 2011/12 Serie A season scheduled for Saturday 1 October at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (20.45), must be sent without fail no later than 13:00 on Saturday 24 September.

The F.C. Internazionale press office would like to remind interested parties that:

– requests for accreditation should be sent via e-mail to press@inter.it with ‘Inter v Napoli accreditation’ in the subject line;

– requests should be sent on company-headed paper along with an identity document, a document indicating membership of a professional association, and documents and permits granted by Lega Serie A (for television staff and photographers);

– requests for accreditation will be assessed in accordance with Lega Serie A regulations and the number of places available at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza;

– requests sent via fax will not be considered;

– requests sent after the deadline will not be considered;

– the F.C. Internazionale press office will notify any unsuccessful applicants via email, by replying to the address through which the request was made.

APPIANO GENTILE –
"There’s only one result we want tomorrow and we want to get it
with a good performance." Gian Piero Gasperini was speaking in the
press conference on the eve of Matchday 1 of the 2011/12 UEFA
Champions League, which sees the Nerazzurri host Trabzonspor at the
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza tomorrow.

"Trabzonspor are a good
side," the coach explained. "We’ve witnessed that in the last few
matches they have played. And every game is difficult in the Champions League. We also have to consider that we’re not going through an
easy period. We don’t take any game lightly, or think ‘this is an
easy one to win’. Trabzonspor have quality and pace; they are a tough
side. They’re missing a few players but they have quality replacements."

Gasperini was asked if he
was going to change the team’s formation for tomorrow’s match: "We’ll
see…" he began with a smile, "Kick-off is at 20:45. A lot will depend on the
situation and on our opponents. We’ll take the best
things we’ve done and try to keep them going. And we’ll take the
mistakes we’ve made, some of them big mistakes, and try not to
repeat them. We’re working hard to improve and we’ll look to play a different
game."

So what were the biggest
mistakes made against Palermo? "The worst thing," explained the
Nerazzurri coach, "was exposing ourselves so much and creating an imbalance, allowing them
to hit is on the break: we have to
work on that. But there were positives too, let’s not forget about
those. Still, after a game like that there are obviously a few things
that need to be corrected. We were undone and unbalanced, as I
said, but we can fix that, and we’ll do so regardless of the formation, which
does affect things but is not really such a determining factor – everyone
has to help the defence. And I’ve always said that with me at the helm Inter would have
to be flexible in the way they play. However, it’s simplistic to put everything down to
a problem of formation; what we need is to find the right balance.
And the players have always given me their full support in that."

The coach was then quizzed about Giampaolo Pazzini being left on the bench against
Palermo – something that, according to some of the journalists in the
press room, sparked a lot of debate. "Everything sparks a lot of
debate… The point is that Milito is an important player and Pazzini is
an important player. They are all important."

"We’ll try to bounce
straight back tomorrow," Gasperini declared. "We have this
opportunity right away and we want to make the most of it. I’ll
try to be as objective as possible when assessing what went well and what didn’t,
and we’ll work on those things."

The coach was also asked
about his preferences in attack, and whether he would consider playing
Milito and Pazzini in partnership: "I generally prefer to play with a
centre forward and two in support. Milito and Pazzini are both
excellent centre forwards, that’s true, and it’s one of Inter’s
strengths; it’s certainly not a flaw. Remember that we’ll be
playing a game every three days. Both strikers are hitting the net regularly
and Forlan has scored too. That is definitely a positive aspect."

A direct question was put
to Gasperini about the chances of Sneijder starting and a four-man
defence being adopted: "There is a chance, yes. It also depends on
how our opponents play; it always depends on how the opposition
plays. But, again, I think it’s reductive to talk about a 3- or 4-man
defence."

Finally, Gasperini replied
with a smile when asked whether he had seen the imitation of him done
recently by Italian comedian Fiorello: "No, unfortunately I haven’t
seen it, but I hope to make Fiorello happy very soon, as he is a huge
Inter fan."

APPIANO GENTILE – "We
can expect a tough game, that’s for sure." Esteban Cambiasso was
the man chosen by Gian Piero Gasperini to speak at the press
conference on the eve of Inter v Trabzonspor, and he began by commenting on the Turkish outfit: "I don’t know of any
team in the Champions League that is easy to play against and,
regardless of the previous encounter between Inter and Trabzonspor
many years ago [a 2-1 aggregate victory for Inter in the 1983/84 UEFA Cup], they will want to prove they are
good enough to compete in the Champions League. We’ll have to be very
careful, and in particular watch out for their counters when we’re on the attack."

Cambiasso was then asked
in what frame of mind Inter go into this European fixture after the defeat against
Palermo in the league: "We’re extremely motivated. A team
like ours doesn’t get knocked back after losing a game, it
looks forward to the next match straight away."

So how does a player react to
the criticism? "As a player you just have to let it wash over you.
Criticism mustn’t affect your mood, you can’t be looking around to see
who is criticising you, how much and in what way. You just have to
concentrate on doing your job," the Nerazzurri midfielder
explained.

Talk turned to the 3-man defence, which has come in for a fair amount of criticism in
certain quarters: "Sitting here and debating about whether to play
3 or 4 at the back is reductive: there are 10 men who defend in a
team. When you analyse a game you can’t just look at the formation.
I’ve won playing with a 4-man defence and I’ve lost with a 4-man
defence. Football is much more complicated than that."

When asked yet another
question about what changes need to be made in the light of the Palermo defeat,
Cambiasso replied; "What is the problem exactly? Because we lost a
game? So you lose a game and then you’re supposed to change everything from
the president right down to the kit men? I really don’t get what
we’re talking about. We lost, ok, but nobody has looked to pass the
blame or make excuses. We just need to remain calm: we made some
mistakes but we just have to stay calm. Personally I don’t see any
problem. All that’s happened is that we lost a match, and it won’t be
the last time. It’s a false start but let’s not make a tragedy out of
it. Now we must concentrate on the Champions League and on not
making another false start."

Finally, a wish, which is
also an invitation to the Nerazzurri faithful: "I hope the
Interisti will get behind us at the stadium tomorrow for our first
Champions League match. We’ll be expecting them."